


Burning Fire and Winter's Bite

by KibblerEars



Series: 25 Days of Christmas [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Eve, Cuddles, Fluff, M/M, Poor Steve Rogers, Poor Tony Stark, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 22:58:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibblerEars/pseuds/KibblerEars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The house may be falling down around them, their bank accounts may be almost empty, and Steve may be injured and cold, but they're together and that's what counts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burning Fire and Winter's Bite

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Fireplace

Muffled sounds of grunting and clanging drifted up through the vents from the basement as Steve huddled deeper into the swaths of blankets and sweaters covering him.  His breath escaped in a faint white wisp of air and he sighed, hiding his face in the corner of a blanket to try and warm his freezing nose.  A particularly loud curse rang through the small house, dragging a laugh from Steve, muffled though it was by his clothes.

“Tony,” he finally called, trying to get his boyfriend’s attention, “Tony, let it go, come upstairs.”

His only answer was an ominous _boom_ that had his eyes slipping closed, hoping there wasn’t any permanent damage. With his injured ankle, there was no way he would make it down the steps into the basement even if he was willing to leave the relative warmth of his cocoon.  Sometimes - re: often - he hated his tiny body and the ease at which it seemed to accept injury.

A _popsnap_ cracked through the air as one of the logs in the fireplace in front of Steve broke under the heat of the flame, drawing Steve’s contemplative gaze. It was Christmas Eve, his fourth since he had come to New York and his second with Tony. The tiny place they rented together was far from upper class, with its peeling paint and constantly-in-need-of-repairs state, but it was home.

_Thud. Crack._ “Fuck!”

Sniffling and rolling his eyes all at once, Steve struggled under the blankets to get his feet to the floor, shivering instantly as he stood, holding only one tiny fleece blanket around his shoulder.  He limped over to the basement door, leaning in the doorframe, “Tony, I swear, if you don’t get your ass up here right now, I’m coming down.”

That set his boyfriend’s feet pounding up the set of stairs, his dirty face appearing within seconds, scowling when he saw Steve standing. “You’re supposed to be laying down with that foot elevated.”

“And you’re supposed to be up here, helping keep me warm,” Steve shot back.

Tony huffed, falling silent for once, opting instead to finish climbing the stairs and help Steve back over to the couch.  Steve’s tiny hand wrapped around Tony’s wrist, tugging him down into his blanket pile - ignoring the ominious creak from the couch at their combined weight - and plastering himself to Tony’s side.  The mechanic’s lips brushed his temple, drawing the faint whisper of a sigh from Steve, their fingers tangling together in Tony’s lap.

“I’m sorry about the furnace, kind of a shitty Christmas present” Tony’s voice was barely audible over the crackling of the fire but Steve just chuckled against his shoulder, twisting to kiss his jaw before settling back down.

“You’re the only present I’ll ever need, Tony.”   

For a long time, nothing was said between them. The night outside grew darker, the air colder, the fire slowly dying, but they were warm within their cocoon of blankets.  Headlights flashed in the windows from time to time, people returning from work or arriving from far away to see family.  Down the street, a dog wouldn’t stop barking despite the occasional screamed orders from its owner.

“Merry Christmas, Steve,” Tony finally whispered into Steve’s hair, the blonde’s breath even with sleep, curled up against Tony in a way Tony would never grow tired of.  Steve was everything to him, had become the rock Tony needed even if he hadn’t known it when he met the man - and what a meeting that had been, he grinned to himself in remembrance of the shorter man glaring up at him and snarking about Tony’s ego.

Within six months after that first disasterous meeting, they were tentative friends. Two months after that, Steve had straightened his shoulders and point blank asked Tony out on a date. By the end of that first year, they were already moving in together.  Maybe it hadn’t been the easiest of times, and maybe they didn’t have a big fancy Tower in downtown New York, or a nice house with a working furnace, or even any food for a traditional Christmas feast in their fridge.

But they had their home; they had their little makeshift family of friends who would be joining them tomorrow for a night of merriment and celebration.

More importantly, they had each other.


End file.
